Sponsor
Portland State University. Department of English
First Advisor
Diana Abu-Jaber
Date of Publication
Spring 7-2-2015
Document Type
Closed Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Creative Writing
Department
English
Language
English
Subjects
Choice (Psychology) -- Fiction, (Psychology) -- Fiction, Life -- Fiction
DOI
10.15760/etd.2354
Physical Description
1 online resource (ii, 178 pages)
Abstract
In this collection, the typical and the peculiar collide with the necessary and familiar. Where life, love, and loss, are random quantum elements that may or may not hold the universe together. Some of these stories explore characters that are a bit off, a tad quirky, underdogs trying to find something to hold on to.
From musing about the atomic bomb and Hubba Bubba gum, to jogging at the speed of a particle in the Hadron accelerator, or ruminating on the awesome power of the sit-com, to taking a selfie with co-workers in the dark, to what bored kids do to preserve memories, this collection connects the absurd and the mundane, the universal and particular.
These stories deal with choices and events that have the potential to change lives and shape character. And whether it's breaking the record for highest jump in a mattress outfit, longing for meatballs, what the downtown bus hub can teach, secret tattoos, cutting off your pinkie to save a relationship, or whales on the high sea, this collection oscillates between the random and the significant in order to enlighten or at least to entertain.
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/15607
Recommended Citation
Sullivan, Robert Edward, "A Necessary Introduction to the Peculiar: Stories" (2015). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 2357.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.2354
Comments
This thesis is only available to students, faculty and staff at PSU.